Marketing Secrets with Russell Brunson - How Long Do I Stick With A Product That's Not Working?

Episode Date: February 21, 2022

In this episode, Russell and Alison answer the question "How long do you stick with a product that's not working?". Hit me up on IG! @russellbrunson Text Me! 208-231-3797 Join my newsletter at marketingsecrets.com ClubHouseWithRussell.com Magnetic Marketing Hey there! So, you're diving into this podcast where Russell Brunson and Alison Prince tackle a common question: When should you call it quits on a product that just isn't selling? It's a dilemma many entrepreneurs face, and their insights shed light on a crucial aspect of business strategy. Russell starts off by sharing anecdotes, including one about a friend who persisted with a product for years, only to find minimal success. He emphasizes the fine line between perseverance and recognizing a "dead duck." Sometimes, a product needs a pivot in positioning rather than a complete overhaul. Denise chimes in with her own experience, having switched gears after realizing her initial product wasn't hitting the mark. She's now venturing into a new area that aligns more with her passion. But she's still unsure about how long to give a new product before calling it quits, especially when it comes to specific offerings like a cookbook. Russell and Alison offer valuable advice, stressing the importance of positioning. They highlight how sometimes it's not the product itself that's the issue but rather how it's presented to the market. A simple tweak in messaging or target audience can make all the difference. In the end, Denise feels reinvigorated, ready to tackle both her new venture and potentially revisit her previous product with a fresh perspective. It's a testament to the power of strategic thinking and the value of seeking advice from experienced mentors like Russell and Alison. The conversation wraps up on a high note, with everyone energized by the exchange of ideas. It's clear that these "hot seats" are not only informative but also incredibly inspiring for all involved. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey, good morning. Welcome back, everybody. We've got some more Q&As from the Econ vs. Experts Smackdown today for the Marketing Secrets Podcast. And today's question is one that I think a lot of you guys are probably wondering, right? My guess is if you created a product and you're trying to sell it, you're trying to sell it, no one's buying, no one's buying, like, when do you quit, right? And we're always talking about don't be a quitter, don't be a quitter, but is there a time to quit? Is there a time to keep going? Like, how does it work? So the question is, how long do you stick with a product that's not working

before you pivot and try something different? This is a great question from the Smackdown, and I think you guys will enjoy the answer, and hopefully you'll learn a ton from this, from both Allison and I. So with that said, I'm queuing up the theme song, and then we come back, you're gonna find out how long do you actually stick with a product

that's not working? And if it's not working, do you just give up? Or is there other things you can do? Like, maybe I'm close. Maybe I'm's not working, do you just give up? Or is there other things you can do? Like maybe I'm close. Maybe I'm like an inch away from success. You know? And so that's kind of what this episode and this question is all about.

Hope you enjoy it. And I will see you guys soon. So the big question is this. How are entrepreneurs like us who didn't cheat and take on venture capital, who are spending money from our own pockets, how do we market in a way that lets us get our products and our services and the things that we believe in out to the world and yet still remain profitable? That is the question and this podcast will give you the answers. My name is Russell Brunson and welcome to Marketing Secrets. All right. Next question is from Denise Smith.

She says, how long should I stick with a product or strategy that is not working before I should pivot to a different product? What are some things you do when a product isn't working before you move on? Ooh, that's a really good question. So good. That's a good one. I'll get some of my thoughts, and then I'm going going to open up to find out more what your product is. But this is the, there's two sides of this, right? I've seen people who have a product that they wanted to create.

They were passionate about it, they were obsessed with it and then they created it and it wasn't what the market wanted and they kept trying and trying and trying to the point where they end up losing everything. Like I literally had a friend when I first got started, he'd written this book, the ebook and it wasn't a very good ebook and the topic wasn't good. And he spent two years trying to sell, trying to sell, trying to sell. And I asked him like, why don't you try something else? And he's like, I invested so much time and energy into this.

I can't try anything else. And he never made success. And I haven't seen him now in a decade and a half. But there's the other side too with ClickFunnels. Like we built ClickFunnels, we launched it and it was like crickets. And then I did it again and again. And it's three or four and like the sixth time is when it like it caught and started taking off and so there's kind of that fine line of like is this is this thing a dud uh marlin sanders if you guys know marlin

he's one of the original ogs he had a whole presentation he did one time about dead ducks don't quack he's like if you have a dead duck it doesn't quack like you need to like let it go but you have to find out is it a dead duck or is it just duck that haven't like hasn't learned how to quack yet right um and so that's kind of the question. And so I'd be curious to know – I don't know if I'm going to add anything to it, but I'd be curious to know what the product is and where you are on the timeline because that might help us to give you very specific feedback as opposed to like – So I switched products. And I'm a big geek here. I switched products because I spent a year and a half doing exactly what your friend did.

And I put something out in the market that I thought young people would need. And it was, are you ready to be an entrepreneur? Millennials don't want us to tell them how to get organized. And I kept saying they need it. And my husband kept saying, but they don't want it. I'm like, but they need it. So I spent so much time. And that was my problem is I spent a lot of time and energy there and a lot of money.

And I have now pivoted. I started actually completely. I've gone into the health system like Tracy did this morning. And I'm now teaching because my real passion is teaching women my age, post-menopausal women, how to lose weight the healthy way without being without crazy diets and everything else. And that's where my passion is. So my question is, I have that that and i will continuously show up on that because i'm crazy but as i have products how long would i like if and i'm just building it

just started this week so um if i put a cookbook out there how long do i try to keep selling the cookbook before i just say well no one wants this um and obviously this time i'm going to use the ask method i'm asking before i just do but so that's my thing is how long do you keep, not necessarily the overall program, but products within the program if they don't work. And by the way, my husband, I'm just going to be a geek here. I was trying to figure it out. My husband's like, you always say do what Russell says, so ask Russell.

You don't mind. And here you go. So one thing to think about too is like you said that the product didn't work but the interesting thing is the product actually is fine it's the positioning of the product so if you go back to that first business my guess is you were trying to again you were telling them what they you're trying to sell them what they uh what they needed but not what they wanted so i was the same thing with click funnels i was trying to sell initially like what they need like you guys need this and like but that wasn't the messaging that they

wanted. I had to position it differently for them to be like, Oh, I see, like, I need that. Like I, or excuse me, vice versa. I want that. Like I want that. Right. But it wasn't me changing the entire product. It was changing the positioning. And I've had multiple products where I've launched it and it bombed. Um, in fact, David Fry is a close friend of mine. He had a very interesting one. He had, um, it was actually similar market. He had a very interesting one. He had – it was actually a similar market. He was trying to teach students how to get good grades so they can get into good colleges. And he's tried targeting students forever and messaging them towards students and for years tried and finally just about to give up on it. And then he realized, he's like, the kids aren't the ones who care about getting good grades.

I'm going to call it just the parents. So he took the same product. He didn't change the product at all. He just changed the sales letter, the messaging from, hey, as a kid, you can get good grades. Like, Hey, how would you like your kid to get better grades? How'd you like your kid? And they started speaking. The whole copy spoke to the parents and how this thing was going to help. And he shifted that shift to the ad shift to the targeting and boom, the whole thing blew up. Um, so a lot of times the product's not, doesn't have to restart. It's just the positioning. How do we position this?

Right. If you think about this, like the way, even this program, like there's, there's things that people want, like you guys want, right. But there's also things you need. And so it's like, we talk about the things that you guys want, but then we're fulfilling. Also, we give you the stuff that you want, but we're also giving you stuff that you need, right? It's like your parents used to like give you ice cream if you eat your vegetables, like, or whatever, or your, your things like, and so marketing is all about that. Like we want to deliver exactly what people need because we're educators, we're trainers. Like we love that, but what do need because we're educators, we're trainers, like we love that,

but what do they want? We got to sugarcoat it and position it away. It shows off the parts that they want and then we can give them what they want, but then like really serve them with what they, what they actually need. You know, it's fascinating.

I mean, does this program to CCX alone? It's like, yes, everyone wants the funnel. It's going to hit in the marketing, but like what most people actually need is the mindset stuff. And so we're giving what you guys want.

You're coming, you learn funnels, we're gonna do challenge funnels, econ funnels, but man, we have momentum coaches what most people actually need is the mindset stuff. And so we're giving what you guys want. You're coming, you're learning funnels, we're gonna do challenge funnels, econ funnels, but man, we have momentum coaches because what you actually need is this, like that's what people actually are keeping away. Right. And so we're sugarcoating it. We're positioning in a way that we can get people in. So that'd be my, my take on the old business. And if that one's done, I'm fine with that. Like you moving on to this other one, but just the same thing is gonna be true with this one is the understanding that like, Hey, cause you're going to be passionate about this. All the stuff that like hey because you're gonna be passionate about this all stuff

you need like you need to go on diet no one's gonna die you gotta eat healthy i don't want to eat healthy so it's like okay how do we how do we position this in a way that's exciting like this is what they actually are wanting and then we can still give them everything they need but we're you know we're positioning in a way that that gets them gets them excited to want to go and buy otherwise they're not going to buy and did you guys just see what happened there like i was kind of looking on the outsider you have this amazing product we saw it we see it right and you're like i'm just ready to trash it and russell's like no no just tweak it a little bit instead of sending uh selling to the millennials or the kids or whatever just sell to the parents right just a little little tweak all this hard work that you've done, all the money that you've spent, that's awesome.

You just switch it just a little bit. So that's what happens in these hot seats in the 2CCX program. And some people are just like, I've spent all this money. I can't do this anymore. They want to ditch it. I'm like, no, no, no. No, that's still really good. That's still really good.

You just have to change the positioning of who you're selling it to. So that was fun. Me too. I'm going to it to. So that was fun. Me too. I'm going to do both. Awesome. Thank you. And tell your husband hi. Very cool.

Oh, so good. Awesome. These are fun. I know, right? Now we're in hot seats every day for the rest of our lives. This is way better than anything else. That was awesome. Thank you for listening to the Marketing Secrets Podcast.

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